The Ashes 2006/07: The Adelaide Test Thread - Day Five

[Mr Hutt]

Yes well your information if absolutely correct does go against the point that english youngsters dont have a chance in the counties because of foreigners, but why do you need foreigners with lads like the ones outlined below is my question??? For every guy you play from anywhere else including the Kolpacks someone must suffer, maybe that someone can be a future england great. S.A thought KP was not up to their standard well look at him now... no matter what they say they would love to have him now

I think we have lost a few pakistani players to the counties as well

Saqlain Mushtaq comes to mind.. not properly managed by PCB, gets too much money in england doesnt wanna come back...and we loose a great spinner.

Are you saying you do not believe in the talent your country has, that you have to pit them against superstars from other countries to help them improve? What contribution did say Waseem Akram do for Lancashire, aside from taking them to the top... what lasting contribution did he achieve??? has anyone come out of lancashire who bowls like him recently?? nope... Sajid Mahmood? nope again

Originally Posted by Rachael

This is a red herring Mr Hutt: promising youngsters have far, far more chance of playing in the County Championship than promising Aussies do of playing in the Pura Cup. Players like Bell and Cook have NEVER really struggled for a place... Panesar's never struggled... Clarke's never struggled... and even a wayward wonder like Mahmood can get into Lancashire's first team

Take the case of Adil Rashid: he's an 18 year old leg-spinner who can bat a bit... and he played 2nd XI cricket in mid summer (along with some Under-19 England cricket). He wasn't anything like convincing enough with the ball to be risked by Yorkshire as a first team player... but he scored three centuries in a week and was immediately drafted into the 1st XI as a batsman. He couldn't hack it on the batting front... and the captain didn't dare bowl him whilst the game was being hotly contested... but when he eventually got to turn his arm over he ripped through the opposition, sealed his place and ended up picking up 25 wickets at 25.16 from the few games remaining at the end of the season.

Steven Davies is a 20 year old wicket-keeper. Read his profile: He's been England U-19 captain....he finished above Graeme Hick in the Worcestershire averages in his debut season as an 18-19 year old in 2005... he was selected for the National Academy and toured the West Indies with England A that winter.

He's barely out of nappies and already has 68 1st team appearances to his name!!!

[Rachael]

Without the best overseas players the gap between domestic and international cricket would grow and players with inadequate techniques would come under less pressure for change. Without the journeymen overseas players there simply wouldn't be enough competent players to run all the counties: the ECB run an 18 team system..... and the number of players needed to sustain that is vast. Go check out the first division averages and second division averages some time: the number of players in paid employment is just vast... and if you took out the Kolpackers you'd be playing 2nd XI players all over the shop... and I suspect you'd get 45 year olds thriving (and not retiring) because they would be better than the youngsters who are apparently not getting their chances at present!

[Oliver]

"Without the best overseas players" England would probably win all their home Tests. As their players would be entirely used to "English" conditions, and the other chaps would struggle against true swing bowlers, without prior knowledge of exactly how much it does "go" over here.

Ahh Ed Giddins... I was trying to remember his name before...

Of course there could be a problem there. One might end up with a really stupid and stubborn coach who is so intent on playing his chums in the team that you don't actually get a genuine swing bowler in really swingy conditions, or a genuine finger spinner in really spinny conditions, or indeed for that genuine finger spinner, you might not get a genuine wicket-keeper, I suppose.

Of course, on the flatter pitches, it wouldn't matter a damn, because any fool and Robert Key can make a double century against ineffectual seam bowling and a misfiring quick.
Of course Robert Key can't really do it, unless he gets in with the coach. It's good to know that one of Fletcher's countless errors of the last (yes I'd go so far as to say) year has come good.

[Zainub]

Originally Posted by Oliver

I will summon up the words to discuss beer with Rach at a later hour.

Just now it is sufficient (here comes a long one ) to say: "what a pathetic load of sheep poo."

I think you're being harsh Oliver...I thought the performance was very very highly enjoyable. Think of all the joy England's boys passed on to Australian fans...and anyone-but-England fans...from their perspective the last day show was as enjoyable and memorable as any coming around in test cricket. Quite a first class load of first class sheep poo I'd say. Muaaahhh....

[dickies dragons]

We are so accomodating in this country,
Lets take the Aussies,,,many of them play county cricket anyway, and know the conditions.
When they Aussies come here we give them a lovely warm up in Arundel against Lord Ponsonberrys lady boy 11,then give them fixtures against county teams,who generally pick their 3rd team.
We get Tait tearing in, in South Australia at 95mph!And Jaques tearing our bowlers apart in 90f heat.
As i said we have a lovely "after you "Claude,,attitude.
Rant over.

[Ninjaman]

Surprisingly, you beat them last summer after all that "accomodation".

But then, when things are going bad, blame the foreigners!

[Oliver]

I think you're missing the point there Ninjaman.

Perhaps you're going it on purpose.

No-one is blaming the foreigners here. We are blaming the people who run English cricket.
And Duncan Fletcher (who is naturalised British citizen).